1974–75 Spirits of St. Louis season

August 2023 Spirits of St. Louis ABA 1975 32 52 Eastern 3 3 Bob MacKinnon St. Louis Arena KPLR 11 KMOX Won the 1975 Eastern Division Semifinals, lost 1975 Eastern Division Finals Carolina Cougars The 1974–75 Spirits of St. Louis season was the first season of the Spirits of St. Louis franchise in the American Basketball Association out in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as the eighth season of the franchise when including the couple of seasons they played as the Houston Mavericks while in Houston, Texas and the majority of the time they spent as the Carolina Cougars while representing the state of North Carolina as a regional franchise. While the Carolina Cougars franchise was bought out by brothers Ozzie and Daniel Silna alongside Harry Weltman and lawyer Donald Schupak and officially moved to St. Louis with a new name in tow, the Spirits were treating themselves as essentially folding their old Carolina Cougars franchise and having the Spirits of St. Louis act like an expansion franchise by comparison since none of the old Cougars personnel from the previous season would return with the Spirits for this season of play. Despite the team finishing with a below-average 32–52 record, the Spirits being led by Marvin Barnes, Maurice Lucas, Gus Gerard, and coach Bob MacKinnon would finish with a third place finish in the Eastern Division due in part to a weak division that year, earning them a spot in the 1975 ABA Playoffs. Despite their below-average record, they would upset the defending champion New York Nets in the Eastern Division Semifinals for the first round of the playoffs before faltering in the Eastern Division Finals against the eventual champion Kentucky Colonels. Offseason ABA Draft 1974 ABA draft Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College 1 7 John Lucas II PG USA United States Maryland 2 19 Gus Gerard SF USA United States Virginia 4 37 Darrell Elston SG USA United States North Carolina 5 47 Mickey Johnson PF USA United States Aurora College 6 57 Gary Novak F USA United States Notre Dame 6 58 Harvey Catchings PF/C USA United States Hardin–Simmons University 7 67 Jimmy Foster PG USA United States Connecticut 8 77 Thomas L. Kivisto PG USA United States Kansas 9 87 Marcus Washington G USA United States Marquette 10 97 Mike Sylvester F USA United StatesITA Italy Dayton All of the Spirits of St. Louis' selections were made back when they were originally known as the Carolina Cougars. This table does not include the "ABA Draft of NBA Players" done immediately afterward.1974-75 Spirits of St. Louis notes at RememberTheABA.com http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/StLouisMaterial/MavsCougarsSpiritsYearly.html https://web.archive.org/web/20090627072127/http://www.remembertheaba.com/TeamMaterial/StLouisMaterial/MavsCougarsSpiritsYearly.html 2009-06-27 dead 2009-10-03 ABA Draft of NBA Players Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College NBA Team 1 7 Pete Maravich SG USA United States LSU Atlanta Hawks 2 17 Henry Bibby PG USA United States UCLA New York Knicks 3 27 Phil Jackson PF USA United States North Dakota New York Knicks 4 37 Paul Westphal PG/SG USA United States USC Boston Celtics 5 47 Jeff Mullins SG USA United States Duke Golden State Warriors The "ABA Draft of NBA Players" that was done on April 17, 1974 (back when the Spirits of St. Louis were still the Carolina Cougars at the time) happened immediately after the actual ABA Draft done for this season was concluded on that day. None of the five players drafted by this franchise would report to the Spirits this season, though they would get Don Adams, a player previously drafted by the Denver Nuggets back when they went by the Denver Rockets in that same draft from the Detroit Pistons, to play for them near the end of the season, making him the only player selected from that draft to technically play for the ABA that season. Following the draft's conclusion, Pete Maravich, Phil Jackson, and Paul Westphal would all end up becoming members of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, though Jackson would make it more for his coaching abilities while working with the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers as an 11x coaching champion leading multiple superstar-caliber players there over anything he did as a player. Preseason transactions Following the 1973–74 season the Carolina Cougars were purchased for $1.5 million by new owners including Ozzie Silna, Daniel Silna, Harry Weltman, and Donald Schupak. The new owners moved the team to St. Louis and began play as the Spirits of St. Louis. Rudy Martzke was named Director of Operations. In May 1974 the Spirits sold Ted McClain to the Kentucky Colonels. On May 10, 1974, the Spirits released Jim Chones. On June 20, 1974, the Spirits sold Mack Calvin to the Denver Nuggets, and that same month Billy Cunningham left the team to return to the NBA. Cunningham's departure from the team would allow the ABA to give them a bonus pick the following year, though the Spirits would ultimately decline using that selection on their end that year. On July 17, 1974, the Spirits signed Marvin Barnes, who had been drafted by the Denver Nuggets, to a seven-year, $2.1 million contract; the ABA awarded Denver an additional 1975 first-round draft choice as compensation. On September 27, 1974, the Spirits signed Don Chaney of the Boston Celtics to a three-year, $600,000 contract to begin with the 1975–76 season. Also in September 1974 the Spirits signed Maurice Lucas to a six-year contract. Bob MacKinnon became the Spirits' coach prior to the season, replacing Larry Brown who left for the Denver Nuggets along with Carl Scheer. In September 1974 Bob Costas was hired as the Spirits' radio announcer. Preseason exhibition games Unlike most ABA teams, the Spirits did not play preseason exhibition games against NBA opponents prior to the 1974–75 season, though they did before the 1975–76 season, and in prior seasons as the Carolina Cougars.All-Time ABA vs. NBA Exhibition Game Results, RememberTheABA.com http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html https://web.archive.org/web/20091028154556/http://www.remembertheaba.com/ABAStatistics/ABANBAExhibitions.html 2009-10-28 dead 2009-10-03 Roster Spirits of St. Louis 1974–75 #BE3A35 #FFFFFF #000000 #BE3A35 10 Don Adams basketball SF 6 6 210 November 27, 1947 Northwestern 24 Marvin Barnes PF 6 8 210 July 27, 1952 Providence 34 Mike Barr basketball SG 6 3 180 October 19, 1950 Duquesne 27 Joe Caldwell SF 6 5 195 November 1, 1941 Arizona State 7 Terry Driscoll PF 6 7 215 August 28, 1947 Boston College 15 Jimmy Foster basketball PG 6 1 175 December 16, 1951 UConn 12 Bernie Fryer SG 6 3 185 December 25, 1949 BYU 11 Gus Gerard SF 6 8 200 July 27, 1953 Virginia 42 Tom Ingelsby PG 6 3 180 February 12, 1951 Villanova 23 Steve Jones basketball SG 6 5 205 October 17, 1942 Oregon 55 Goo Kennedy SF 6 5 205 August 23, 1949 TCU 1 Freddie Lewis PG 6 0 175 July 1, 1943 Arizona State 20 Maurice Lucas C 6 9 215 February 18, 1952 Marquette 54 Gene Moore basketball C 6 9 225 July 29, 1945 Saint Louis 14 Tom Owens C 6 10 215 June 28, 1949 South Carolina 35 Fly Williams SG 6 5 200 February 18, 1953 Austin Peay State University 10 Milt Williams PG 6 2 182 November 22, 1945 Lincoln University (Missouri) 44 Dennis Wuycik SF 6 6 215 March 29, 1950 North Carolina Bob MacKinnon https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SSL/1975.html Regular season Season standings + 1974-75 ABA Final Standings Eastern Division W L PCT. GB Kentucky Colonels 58 26 .690 - New York Nets 58 26 .690 - Spirits of St. Louis 32 52 .381 26 Memphis Sounds 27 57 .321 31 Virginia Squires 15 69 .179 43 Western Division W L PCT. GB Denver Nuggets 65 19 .774 - San Antonio Spurs 51 33 .607 14 Indiana Pacers 45 39 .536 20 Utah Stars 38 46 .452 27 San Diego Conquistadors 31 53 .369 34 1974-75 ABA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.comRemember the ABA: 1974-75 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results http://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1975Playoffs.html https://web.archive.org/web/20091103015405/http://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1975Playoffs.html 2009-11-03 dead 2009-10-03 ABA Playoffs The Spirits would meet whoever lost the one-game playoff match to determine the best team of the Eastern Division this season. As it turned out, the Spirits would face off against the defending champion New York Nets in the first round of the 1975 ABA Playoffs. Despite the unlikely odds that they would upset the defending champions at all, especially since the Spirits had lost every game they played against the Nets during the season alongside the first game of the series, the Spirits would provide a shocking upset to the defending champions in the first round of the series onward. + ABA Eastern Division Semifinals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 6 New York 105–111 0–1 11,607 2 April 9 New York 115–97 1–1 10,621 3 April 11 St. Louis 113–108 2–1 6,199 4 April 13 St. Louis 100–89 3–1 7,719 5 April 15 New York 108–107 4–1 9,664 Spirits win series, 4–1 The Kentucky Colonels finished the season as the Eastern Division champions, and dispatched the Memphis Sounds in the Eastern Division Semifinals, 4 games to 1. The Spirits and Colonels met in the Eastern Division Semifinals. Game 1 of the Eastern Division semifinals was played in Louisville on April 21. Kentucky won 112-99 despite Freddie Lewis' 35 points. Game 2 on April 23 saw the Colonels win at home 108-103 despite Marvin Barnes' 43 points. The series then moved to St. Louis on April 25. The Spirits had lagged in attendance all season but outdrew the Colonels' first two crowds in the series as 10,142 showed up for Game 3. Freddie Lewis scored 32 points and St. Louis defeated Kentucky 103–97. Game 4 saw Artis Gilmore lead all scorers with 33 as the Colonels beat the Spirits 117–98 before 11,688 fans on April 27. The Spirits and Colonels met for Game 5 in Louisville on April 28. Kentucky's crowd of 8,726 was less than either of the two St. Louis crowds, and Marvin Barnes scored 35 points for the Spirits. Kentucky still won 123-103 and the Colonels advanced to the ABA Finals for the third time.1974-75 ABA Game by Game Log- Part 4 + ABA Eastern Division Finals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 21 Kentucky 109–112 0–1 6,612 2 April 23 Kentucky 103–108 0–2 8,422 3 April 25 St. Louis 103–97 1–2 10,142 4 April 27 St. Louis 98–117 1–3 11,688 5 April 28 Kentucky 103–123 1–4 8,726 Spirits lose series, 4–1 This would later become the last playoff series the franchise would ever play in. Player statistics Legend 22em GP: Games played GS: Games started MPG: Minutes per game FG%: Field goal percentage 3FG%: 3-point field goal percentage FT%: Free throw percentage RPG: Rebounds per game APG: Assists per game SPG: Steals per game BPG: Blocks per game PPG: Points per game Season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Awards and records Awards Marvin Barnes, 1975 ABA All-Star Game Marvin Barnes, 1975 ABA Rookie of the Year Marvin Barnes, Second Team All-ABA Marvin Barnes, 1975 ABA All-Rookie Team Gus Gerard, 1975 ABA All-Rookie Team Freddie Lewis, 1975 ABA All-Star Game Freddie Lewis, Most Valuable Player, 1975 ABA All-Star Game Transactions Draft and preseason signings May 1974: The Colonels purchased Ted McClain from the Spirits (still under the Carolina Cougars name) References External links 1974-75 Spirits of St. Louis on Basketball Reference RememberTheABA.com 1974-75 regular season and playoff results RememberTheABA.com Spirits of St. Louis page Category:Spirits of St. Louis Spirits of St. Louis Spirits of St. Louis Spirits of St. Louis